The BabySuperModel Chronicles - Vol. 2

As you long-time readers may recall, G-Man was signed to a modeling agency in Boston last year. Though they were enthusiastic when they signed him, he has only been on one casting so far. We hadn't heard anything from them in a while, but a couple weeks ago, we got a call.

And not just for a casting, for an actual job!

Remembering all the things I learned last time, G-Man and I arrived early for our appointment on the day of the job. The shoot took place at a new home that had been finished, but not purchased. The company rented the house and some furniture and had a pretty elaborate setup for the product shots. The shoot was for packaging for a safety gate company. You know, safety gates. Like these:



We walked in the holding room where three other kids and two large dogs were waiting for their turn to go onto the set. All the kids were about the same age - two girls and another little boy besides G-Man. We were the last appointment, so we waited while all the other kids went in. The first little girl seemed to do okay. The second one had a complete meltdown. The first little boy was crying too. And since we got there early and G-Man's appointment was kind of late, I was a little concerned about how he was going to behave. He was delightful when we arrived, but after an hour of playing with the kids and running around the room and petting the dogs, he was getting tired.

They had G-Man change into a short-sleeved shirt and brought him onto the set. A woman in her early 20s was there playing his "mom." They had me put him on the floor and see if I could leave the set so they could take pictures without me there, but at that point, he was tired and wasn't having it. So, I played with him and the model and then stepped out of the frame. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. A perfectly normal looking living room, except I was surrounded by gigantic lightboxes and reflectors. The shot setup was an adult model and a baby model in front of the safety gate. Then in the distance behind the safety gate, they had the dog sitting up. It was a smart shot - you could see that the baby was tall, you could see that the dog was tall and that the safety gate was keeping both of them separated. The problem was - we would get G-Man settled, and the dog would move. The dog would get settled and G-Man would move. Or G-Man would look at me and walk over to me. The photographer was shooting tethered to a laptop and an additional 30" screen, so I was able to see some of the images. They did get some great shots. I can't believe they got any shots with all the moving and craziness that was going on.

I was completely geeking out over the lighting and equipment setup. I was trying to scan and take it all in while keeping G-Man happy. It was fun for me to watch. And there were people everywhere. In addition to the photographer and his 3 or 4 assistants, there were a couple people there from the company to approve shots as they were taken, then they had a whole other crew that was handling the getting ready part.

I really wish I could have taken more pictures. I wanted to get shots of the camera setup, but there was no way. The only shot I have for the day is of G-Man playing with the other little boy in the holding room:



He was exhausted and slept all the way home. He had a hard day earning his first paycheck! I'm really interested to see if any of his pictures get used. If you are walking through the baby section of a store and see him on a box, snap a picture with your cell and send it to me!